Up to your eyes in debt? Share our glasses and get it into perspective - a does get smaller problem shared

This new thread is loosely linked to several previous ones on the same topic.

We live in a society that makes it horribly easy to get into debt but makes it incredibly hard to admit you have a problem and even harder to get out of debt.Everybody is welcome to share problems, ideas, solutions, but not be judgemental please

The important things to remember are- yesterday is as past as the Crimean War( we will not judge how you got into debt, but we will support you on the way out )- this is an anonymous forum( we will not tell your employer, family or friends of the reality of your numbers and we are here day and night )- this thread is about supporting people through the huge mindset changes needed to come out of debt( feel free to offload all of the feelings that drive you to want to spend, that make it hard to save and that generally make life crap at times, including getting those closest to you to recognise the changes needed )

Join in, bare your soul and come out the other end. Its worth it. You are worth itThe long term results for you, your partner, your children, and your friends and family are worth it.

Please, please, please can I join? I feel that I'm beyond hope, since Christmas I've paid off around £800 on my credit card (balance now about £250) and around £300 on my next account (balance now around £150). I've been doing so well! Until yesterday when I opened a Dorothy Perkins account and spent £260 on clothes for myself. Why have I sabotaged all of my good work, I'm so annoyed. I can't even send them back because I've taken the tags off. Feels like back to square one x

DaisyWelcome to the gang - everybody is welcome.So, the Dorothy Perkins : notify them that you plan to close the account as soon as it is settled.Are you using the standing order trick on the card?And then have a deep breathe and decide WHY you wanted those clothes more than you wanted financial safety.Once you put the want for new stuff into perspective its easier to ignore

So, the Dorothy Perkins : notify them that you plan to close the account as soon as it is settled.

Be careful doing that, I did that and they demanded the balance in 3 working days from the date of the letter!Wasn't DP but most creditors have that somewhere in the contract: that they can close the a/c and demand the balance at any time, most never do, but it did happen to me when I notified one that I was leaving them once paid off (I planned to pay it off over 3ish months not 3 days, and had already paid half off so wasn't missing payments or anything)

Place marking as I need to change my attitude towards spending massively! I have such a bad habit of immediately buying anything and everything that takes my fancy and it's getting silly. I literally got to the point of checking out a bloody holiday to Disney next year before realising we have fuck all in the bank to pay for it! I find I'm shopping when I'm bored or miserable and it fills a gap: how sad am I?!

What triggered you to get the DP card? bad week? "treating" yourself? or a bit of sabotage (some people convince themselves they'll always be broke, so fuck things up for themselves when they get close to sorting their finances)

Funky duck have you tried leaving your cards at home and only having your cash allowance for the week in your wallet?

I can be a bit of a bored shopper too - it happens when I'm tired mostly. When I can't be arsed to go home and get on with things, instead of going from A-B, I go from A-M&S-H&M-B LOL as it's smaller stints IYKWIM

Hi I tried to use the spreadsheet for credit cards debt but I think there may be a problem with the code as I enter info and the calculation doesn't happen. Maybe it's me! Thank you so much for doing this.

I'm determined to make headway on my credit cards. I have one at around £2000 and another​ of £6200 . I've been looking at the spreadsheet. What do you mean by the headings 'fixed at double first minimum repayment' etc. I'm such a dope. Sorry.

Think I might be grasping it the more I look at it. Haha! Do you think it's best to focus all my efforts to wiping out the smaller card (20%) first and then try to use that additional sum to increase the payment of the bigger one thereafter (16.6%)? Or look for a 0% deal to put both on? Or is that a bad idea?

AloeHit the highest interest rate hardest.Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert calls it "snowballing"You want to reduce the amount of interest you are paying as fast as you can.If you can get them both onto 0% then its even quicker but such deals are often hardest for those who need them both.

THe spreadsheet deliberately has hundreds of rows - so that you can see one number falling each month depending on the method you use.

Think I might be grasping it the more I look at it. Haha! Do you think it's best to focus all my efforts to wiping out the smaller card (20%) first and then try to use that additional sum to increase the payment of the bigger one thereafter (16.6%)? Or look for a 0% deal to put both on? Or is that a bad idea?

I think this depends on your mindset. If you get into a spiral of feeling it's an impossible task, then pay off the smaller one FIRST - which will show you that you CAN pay stuff off and will motivate you to keep on track.

However, if that's not your issue, then pay off the highest % one first and just do minimum balance on the lower % one.

Of course ideally you pop the lot on 0% cards, but you have quite big balances so might not get them matched, however you can still partially balance transfer (e.g. if you have £1500 on an interest charging one, but only get approved for £1000 on a 0% card, you can balance transfer from the 0% leaving a smaller balance to pay off on the interest charging one). MoneySavingExpert does an eligibility checker so you can see what cards you might be eligible for without credit checking (as that affects your credit history)

The standing order trick really does work - there are folks from the early threads who cleared tens of thousands of pounds in debt in less than 4 years using itand because you are just paying next month what you paid this month, it does not hurt.

Thank you so much for the tips. I've decided to do everything you suggest. I've put both on standing order. The big one is going to stay just above minimum while I throw as much as I can at the smaller higher interest card. I aim to have it almost gone by Christmas then I will close it and carry on with the other. I am ashamed that I didn't know the interest rate until you inspired me to get on and do the spreadsheet. Frankly horrified! Anyway you may hear more of me over the next year 😁

Hi I got a 0% balance transfer offer from the card (20%) that I have reduced to £1500. I moved £3200 from the 16% card. Now it's kind of buggered up my spreadsheet! If I have £1500 going @ 20% and £3200 at 0% how do I calculate the balance? Any help will be fantastic! Paying £250 per month off.